Shock absorber members are used, for instance in vehicle doors, to absorb shocks occurring during a collision. Collisions, notably side collision, are one of the most severe accidents that can occur. While the accident can be harmful for both vehicles involved, typically the driver or passenger who is struck has a high chance of suffering from severe injuries and damages. That is why in the recent times big efforts have been made to create an effective solution of this problem, in particular, internal vehicle door panels shock absorber members have been provided in the lower section of a vehicle door for protecting the lower body section of the passenger or driver during a lateral vehicle crash.
EP0718161B1 describes an internal vehicle door panels shock absorber member, where energy absorbing bolsters in the form of foam blocks are placed between the inner and outer panels of the door. One disadvantage of these foam blocks is that for increasing protection, the foam blocks need to be thicker, i.e. having a bigger dimension in the transversal direction of the vehicle (in the present application, this transversal dimension will be called “height”), so that the inner space of the occupant is reduced. One other disadvantage is that the energy absorption is linear along the height, so that the energy absorption rate cannot vary along the height.
The present invention has notably for object to mitigate this drawback.